Julia is please to announce her new clinic at 2 The Square East Linton is now open. To come to this clinic please phone Julia on 07970129478

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Acupuncture Comes to East Linton.

Acupuncture Awareness Week 27^th February – 4^th March 2012

 Julia Edmonds is an Acupuncturist who has worked in Edinburgh for the last 14 years. Julia is pleased to announce that she will be opening a practice from East Linton in March and goes on to tell us that her clinic has opened just in time for Acupuncture Awareness week. Have you ever wondered about having acupuncture but have been concerned about needles? Well you are not alone, research out today has revealed that over 21% of the British public think an acupuncturist’s needle is as large as that used in an injection, proving that despite the ancient Chinese medicine’s rising popularity and hundreds of years of practice, there are still a host of common misconceptions surrounding the treatment.

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Our own health and energy is influenced by many factors.  For example what we inherit from our parents, where we live, what we eat and our environment. Some things we are more in control of than others, some things we can change and some things we cannot.  Our inherent place in the universe is a given. For now we are here, on this planet getting on with our lives taking the ups and downs that come our way. In Chinese medicine there is a recognition and deep understanding of our interconnectedness with all things in our universe.  We cannot alter the fact that we wax and wane with the seasons as do all sentient beings, but here in the west we are hell bent on pretending that some how we are above it all, the cycle of life.

Take a moment to consider this time of year, coming into autumn.  How are you in Autumn, is it a favorite month or one that leaves you feeling down and a little depressed.  Do you get ill in autumn, coughs, colds, flu, fatigue?  Our health is affected by the change in movement of qi at this time.  In the summer our energy is upward and growing before it reaches a plateau of late summer when we can reap our harvest and enjoy the fruits of our labour.  If you are a vegetable gardener, you will have been picking the veg and digging up your potatoes.  Autumn is the time of return.  All things go back into the earth, the sap ceases to rise and the nights draw in.  This has a profound affect on how we feel.  

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How acupuncture can help 

Numerous large, well conducted studies in the last 10 years have  shown that it is more effective to have acupuncture than no treatment or usual care for chronic back pain, osteoarthritis, or headache (Sherman 2009). There is also evidence that it is more effective than sham acupuncture for chronic knee pain or headache and, at least in the short term, for chronic back pain (Hopton 2010). Other conditions have been less well researched. 

In general, acupuncture is believed to stimulate the nervous system and cause the release of neurochemical messenger molecules. The resulting biochemical changes influence the body's homeostatic mechanisms, thus promoting physical and emotional well-being. Stimulation of certain acupuncture points has been shown to affect areas of the brain that are known to reduce sensitivity to pain and stress, as well as promoting relaxation and deactivating the ‘analytical’ brain, which is responsible for anxiety (Wu 1999).

Acupuncture may help relieve chronic pain by:stimulating nerves located in muscles and other tissues, which leads to release of endorphins and other neurohumoral factors (e.g. neuropeptide Y, serotonin), and changes the processing of pain in the brain and spinal cord (Pomeranz 1987, Han 2004, Zhao 2008, Zhou 2008, Lee 2009, Cheng 2009);

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 The BAcC is calling for statutory regulation of the acupuncture profession in the UK, in line with other countries around the world. We are pleased that in 2011 the Secretary of State for Health described acupuncture as offering 'robust self-regulation', but we wish to ensure that acupuncture enjoys similar opportunities to statutorily regulated providers. To find out more viit www.acupuncture.org.uk

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Saturday 3rd September McKenzies Hair and Beauty are holding an open day.  Come and have a chat with me about acupuncture and how it might help.  Starting at 12.30 until 4.00pm. Or just come and have a glass of wine.

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Late summer in Chinese Medicine relates to the time of year between full summer and Autumn.  Energy is said to be in balance at this time of year, the upward energy of spring and summer has slowed and stilled but the downward energy of Autumn had not yet begun.

It tends to be a humid time of year, a combination of warmth and wet.  This helps bring our harvest to full fruition, the final plumping up before the picking!

Some of us do not react so well to this time of year.  This would be described generally as having an underlying "damp" problem.  If you ae someone who suffers from sinusitits, or swollen joints or heavy lethargic limbs, these are all examples of damp issues.  You may just find this time of year fatiguing or notice that a condition you usually cope with is wose at this time. Things that you can do to cope with damp humid conditions:

Avoid damp forming food; this would be any food that slows up or clogggs up the digestion.  Avoid saturated fats from things like cheese, dairy products, fatty foods, red meats, fried food, crisps.  Don't eat too much raw or cold food, ices, fridge cold drinks.

Eat plenty of clean food, freshly prepared especially steamed foods and warm or room temperature drinks.

In short, eat healthy, clean and fresh foods.  Foods that are easy to digest.  Late summer is the season for the stomach, it is the season for paying special attention to our eating habits and avoiding tradtionally unhealthy foods.

Eat the earths bounty, with pleasure and company. 

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On Thursday 11th August 2011 I will be starting a new acupuncture clinic in East Linton.  I will be working on Thursday afternnoons from 3.00pm until 7.00pm at
McKenzies Massage
6 The Square,
East Linton

Appointments can be made by phoning 01620 861336
Alternatively call me on 07970129478 or email me on juia@acupuncturescotland.com

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Acupuncture theory has much to say about the seasons and the effect of seasons on our health.  We are currently moving towards spring, after quite a long and at times hard winter.  Do you feel that winter has had an affect on your health?
Winter is a time for withdrawal, and the cold makes us go inwards and contract. This has an impact on how we feel, how much we do (generally less), what we eat (generally more) and how we feel. our bodies will also contract with the cold, muscle achesa nd pains are very common this time of year.

As we move towards spring we become more outward, the energy now is said to be yang, meaning in this context upward, outward and active.  Look at what is happeneing in gardens around you, bulbs coming out and flowering, birds getting active and lambs appearing in the fields.  It is a time for new growth, activity, procreation and putting ourselves out there in the world!

Is that how you feel in spring?  It can be difficult to adjust to a new type of energy, particulary when the weather can be so changeable.  common complaints at this time of year are things like sciatica, migraine, virus infections, poor sleep and low energy.

So to respond to the seasonal change, take it easy don't push yourself.  Enjoy the change, lighter evenings, bird song and the chance to get out and about.     

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Winter has arrived this year with the earliest and heaviest snow recorded.  How has it affected you?  In Chinese medicine there is a lot of writing about the impact of our weather environment on our health and our energy levels.

Winter is the most yin aspect of our yearly seasonal cycle.  This means it is both the most cold and most inward time of the year.  To get a good understanding of this, all you need to do is look at the natural world.  Look at what is happeneing outside to trees, plants and animal life. Deciduous trees have lost their leaves, evergreen trees have stopped growing.  The sap in the trees that rises in spring and summer slows down as energy is conserved.  For animal life, things are quite tough, energy again needs to be conserved.  On very cold days most animals will hole up rest and try to keep warm. Many will struggle to survive. 

If you have read any of my other seasonal blogs you will know I go on about human nature and our relationship to the environment.  It is never more clear than what we do in winter.  What we are meant to do at this time of the year, and what we end up doing are at opposite ends of the spectrum.  What are we meant to do?  We are meant to follow nature, we are of course animals ourselves.  We are meant to slow down, conserve energy, sleep more, rest more and eat warm nourishing and seasonal food.

Our lives and our culture does not let this really happen. We battle into work and continue to work long days.  Some of this is confused by our ability to heat ourselves and feed ourselves as if we were living in summer.  Now, I am not suggesting that we all switch off our central heating and slip into a double layer sleeping bag and stay there until spring. It is a question of taking notice of what we are meant to do at this time of year.  These are my top tips:

• Drink warm water, not cold.
• Eat warm food, not cold summer food
• Dress for the weather outside
• Go to bed earlier
• In short accept that it is winter and don't pretend it is summer!

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